These actual-size drawings of lint, dust, and hair engage an uncomfortable tension between instinct and intellect. Conflicted, the mind struggles to suppress the body's impulse to blow or brush away these illusory but truly irritating sheddings. The real, the represented, and the imagined intertwine, leading to contradictory experiences of seeing, feeling, and knowing.

Drawings of Dust

Breath #172001silver on gesso on paper14 x 11 inches

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Detail of Breath #172001silver on gesso on paper7 inches of 14 x 11 total

The quiet, meditative space of the work cannot be conveyed in these magnified images. Most of the reproductions are details of the larger “dust clusters,” which are organized in various ways. They range from sparse, barely noticeable scatters to undulating, infinite accumulations.

Detail of Itch #102001silver on gesso on paper7 x 9 inches of 11 x 14 total

Itch #12000silver on gesso on paper14 x 11 inches

Installation of Shelf Drawings2002wood, paint, graphite or silver on gesso on paperShelves vary from 12 to 36 inches wide, 3 to 4 inches high

The shelf drawings are laid flat on precisely fitted shelves. This placement furthers the false impression that actual particles have accumulated on the paper. Viewers must engage with the work physically, bending over as if studying specimens or manuscripts.

Detail of Shelf Drawing #32001graphite on gesso on paper on shelf3 x 5 inches of 6 x 22 total

Three, Drawn Over Time2004graphite on enamel on panel24 x 32 inches each panel

The same dust clusters appear in each of these panels, gaining an accumulation of dust from the first to the third panel. An illusion of the passage of time is depicted, evoking frames in a film strip.